The 76-year-old Richardson is four years removed from heart transplant surgery, and has been mum on his succession plans since.

But trying to get a deal done with the city is viewed as an important step in tying the team to the region he calls home.

Richardson appeared at the closed session of Charlotte City Council Monday night, after which the Council voted 7-2 to support a proposed one-percent hike on prepared food and beverage taxes to pay for the upgrades to Bank of America Stadium.

While the local panic is about Los Angeles looming, the reality is the Panthers have been a solid draw (with a sellout streak that goes back to December 2002) in their privately-financed stadium, and in the top half of teams in market value according to Forbes rankings, valued at $1 billion.

30 responses to “Report: Richardson plans to have Panthers sold after he dies”

Reminds me of the Dolphins having to be sold after Joe Robbie’s death. Robbie wanted to keep the team in his family, but his children couldn’t afford to do that after having to pay the taxes on their inheritence.

My guess is Richardson may very well be facing the same issue, and it could be him just getting ahead of the curve.

The specter of Los Angeles has been really useful to NFL owners in acquiring public funding. You kind of have to wonder if the NFL even has real intentions to move there. They’ve got a good thing going as is.

The Raiders make so much more sense for a move to LA. If the Panthers leave Charlotte, there won’t be a team between Washington, D.C. and Atlanta. That is too big of a geographic gap for America’s favorite sport.

The Raiders make so much more sense for a move to LA. If the Panthers leave Charlotte, there won’t be a team between Washington, D.C. and Atlanta. That is too big of a geographic gap for America’s favorite sport.
—————
Amen to That!
It was like living in a foreign country!
The impact the Panthers have brought to the economy of the region over the years is immeasurable.
People wept with glee when Charlotte was chosen.

I think most people like him around here–even though he says weird things from time to time.

The Panthers aren’t going anywhere. The sellout record is extraordinary and we have been to a Superbowl in the last 10 years which is more than I can say for 50% > of the league. The team represents 2 states that cherish it regardless of what it may seem.

A team worth more than a billion dollars and I have to pay 1% more every time I want to take the old lady out for a Dairy Queen while Richardson is dining on filet at Ruth’s Chris Steak House and laughing all the way to the bank.

Well, He can just will the team to me. I am sure I can round up investors to cover the taxes.

I would be the first owner to sell naming rights to a Team. The Carolina Coca Colas would be immediately worth 2 times what they were. Then I could sell more of a stake in the Team. I would be the worlds first Trillionaire.

So, Richardson is a multi-billionaire, the team is one of the more valuable teams in the league worth a billion, the NFL is worth hundreds of billions. Yet, the owner STILL holds the city and region to pay for his place of work. What sort of bribes, excuse me, lobbying, did Richardson give to these councilmembers? Season tickets? A cut of the concessions? Perhaps the city should put this tax hike to the taxpayers as a vote.

North Carolina did have a NFL team before the Panthers. North Carolina is and always will be Redskins country. Let’s be honest here. I barely know any Panther fans here in NC, and the couple I do know, used to be Redskin fans, who still root for the Redskins on some level. They don’t even watch all the games and barely know anything about the Panthers outside of “we have Cam Newton. He should be a good one”. Outside of the Charlotte area, there are very few passionate Panther fans. I’m dead serious. If the Panthers move out of NC, NC will rejoice because that means we can get our Redskin games back on tv every Sunday like we did for many, many years.

I know some Panther fans will be upset about what I said, but it’s the truth. Facts are facts, North Carolina is Redskins country. Always and forever. Period.

North Carolina did have a NFL team before the Panthers. North Carolina is and always will be Redskins country. Let’s be honest here. I barely know any Panther fans here in NC, and the couple I do know, used to be Redskin fans, who still root for the Redskins on some level. They don’t even watch all the games and barely know anything about the Panthers outside of “we have Cam Newton. He should be a good one”. Outside of the Charlotte area, there are very few passionate Panther fans. I’m dead serious. If the Panthers move out of NC, NC will rejoice because that means we can get our Redskin games back on tv every Sunday like we did for many, many years.

I know some Panther fans will be upset about what I said, but it’s the truth. Facts are facts, North Carolina is Redskins country. Always and forever. Period.
———————————————-

I’m from NC, and I love the Panthers. All my friends are from NC, and 95% of them love them too. The Panthers biggest problem is that the entire northern US is moving to NC and bringing their loyalties with them.

CLT2..you could not be more wrong. This is not 1996 and times have changed bro. Panther fans are EVERYWHERE. If this team leaves Charlotte I will not ever watch another football game as long as I live.

The sellout record is misleading. JR was able to get guarantee’s on seat licenses. PSL’s is why the games sell out. It’s not like Tampa or Jacksonville where they are having to give tickets away. PSL’s mean there’s no blackouts. That stadium is almost half empty on game days. If it wasn’t, then people wouldn’t be talking about a move.

I know some Panther fans will be upset about what I said, but it’s the truth. Facts are facts, North Carolina is Redskins country. Always and forever. Period.
_____
Really? Then what is all this inane bleating of Cowboy-fan sheep I keep hearing in my ears all day? I know the NFL deemed NC as part of Redskins territory for TV purposes befoe we got the Panthers, but there are a lot more Cowboys fans (at least here in Charlotte) than Redskins fans. Their mindless bloviating can be heard all over town. I’ve seen a ton of Bills fans, since about 75% of the city of Buffalo has relocated here. And like clt2 says, there are a bunch of fans of other teams that have moved here.

It’s just going to take a little time for the city to be populated with pure Panthers fans. The kids graduating from high school this year were born the same year as the Panthers. As more kids grow up with there always being the Panthers as the local team around, we’ll eventually build the home-field advantage places like Pittsburgh, Chicago, Cleveland and Kansas City have. I hope Richardson is taking this into consideration and is lining up potential investors while he’s still alive. There is plenty of money here – Leon Levine (Family Dollar founder), Hugh McColl (former Bank of America CEO), Felix Sebates (NASCAR owner), legions of wealthy NASCAR drivers (almost all the top drivers live here), Michael Jordan… plenty of cash to keep the Panthers in the hands of Charlotteans.